Oreo Ice Cream Products, Ranked From Worst To Best

Once Oreo realized its cookies were an ice cream mix-in match made in dessert heaven, it was game over for the treat industry. Cookies and cream would become a standard flavor — the bolder, buzzier cousin of chocolate chip, promising oversized chunks of the grocery world's most dunkable cookie cradled in every frozen dessert format. Then Oreo created frozen treats that are perfect for ice cream lovers, and things got even tastier. Now, Oreo is knee-deep in the ice cream arena, conjuring cookies-and-cream-based goodies that add a refreshing bolt of blue excitement to the freezer section.

I figured there had to be a hierarchy to all these Oreo ice cream shenanigans, which is how I finagled my way into sampling as many of the company's frozen wonders as I could get my grubby little hands on. It just so happened that the Kroger location in my area had the majority of these items on sale, which meant I could load up my freezer and rank them based on my particular preferences. No matter what Oreo considers the best way to enjoy its cookies, my vote is for the company's clever ice cream inventions.

If you've ever wondered whether Oreo Mini Cones are tastier than the full-sized version or how an Oreo ice cream sandwich compares to a cup of Oreo bites, I've solved the mystery for you. Here's how it all stacks up, bite by indulgent, life-affirming bite.

Ice cream bonbons done Oreo-style seem much too small to capture the full scope of cookies and cream. Oreo Bites are, as the name suggests, bite-size frozen nuggets — how much cookie could possibly be waiting beneath the crunchy chocolate shell? Not much, it turns out, which doesn't earn it a ringing endorsement and puts it at the bottom of the list.

There are some positives here. The exterior is more of a mashed-up Oreo cookie than a crackly chocolate concoction, which makes them easier to bite into without making a mess. The combination of chocolate and cream flavors is great too, though these bites seem to be smaller than actual bite-size, despite what the name suggests. That aspect is relative to every eater's preference, obviously. But this eater expects a lot more than 14 tiny bites when paying about the same as some of the more satisfying Oreo treats out there.

Instead of emulating the larger cone, Oreo Mini Cones present more like a sundae cone — a half-sized chocolate cookie cone filled with ice cream with a scalloped top to hold a sprinkling of cookie crumbles. The crushed Oreo pieces are appropriate for the the mini cone format, but it limits the chocolate flavor in the ice cream, letting the vanilla do the heavy lifting. When you finally reach the chocolate cone on bite three, the toasted dark chocolate essence leaps onto the scene, boldly bringing the cookies and cream concept together. The texture is crunchier than the cookie bits would be, giving this miniature confection its own appealing profile.

I found nothing lacking in the flavors or consistency of the mini-cones. But the size limits the level of enjoyment solely based on the reduced scale. If you eat them in two bites, you'd probably get the bold combination you're looking for more than if you consumed them with more restraint. I'd rather stick with the full-size cone and its measured delivery of the elements, which is why it receives a higher spot in the ranking than this diminutive counterpart. They're a great choice for the kiddos, ideal for smaller hands and appetites.

The mint flavor in Oreo Mint ice cream is more of a whisper than a shout; it could easily be turned up just a few notches to really sell the mint aspect of the cookies and cream twist it presents. You can definitely detect the Oreo essence amidst the ice cream, though, so at least it doesn't get totally lost in the flavor battle. I ended up with a full ½-gallon carton, though there are pint-size options available; they just happened to be out of stock when I shopped. Having a smaller quantity presents the danger of downing the whole thing in one sitting, making the larger tub an oddly strategic purchase.

The unadulterated flavor of mint ice cream peppered with Oreo cookies is a huge draw. But after tasting the other items in the collection, the realization that this is all you have, without a crunchy chocolate cone or fun Oreo sandwich cookie layers making the experience a more exciting, Oreo-like moment, makes this carton something of a letdown. The upside is that a half-gallon will go much further than a box of four or six treats.

The tub is the most familiar format for an Oreo ice cream item, an authentic carton of cookies and cream flavor that doesn't bend itself into clever shapes. I chose a pint-size mini tub to see how the cookie pieces stand up in a smaller space; the sweet surprise is that they're just as sizable as they'd be in a full-size ½ gallon carton. The fun treasure hunt to dig them out is easier, since there's less volume to search through. Think of this as the perfect solution for Oreo fans who love the creme more than the cookie.

There's nothing wrong with plain-old cookies and cream delivered with that powerful real Oreo punch. But with so many other fun possibilities in the catalog, it's a little underwhelming to simply scoop a mound of ice cream into a bowl. The temptation to break up more Oreos and mash them into the bowl is hard to resist. I wouldn't say no to this if it was all that was available, but I would definitely take a pass if the more creative members of the Oreo frozen treat family were on the table.

These bigger cones are the Oreo equivalent of a Drumstick, with a chocolate shell dressing up the ice cream dome on top. The shell is soft rather than crackly and wax-like, which makes it easier to chew without breaking the entire coating. It also contains cookie nuggets to compensate for the lesser cookie bits in the ice cream. The chocolate cone is similarly soft and brings in big-time chocolate Oreo razzle-dazzle once you reach it. This treat strikes all the right notes in taste and texture to deliver a well-balanced bite every time.

For cone-lovers who may have to steer clear of traditional Drumsticks and Nutty Buddies due to peanut sensitivities, Oreo cones are a perfect replacement. To be sure, they're doing their own thing, but they're close enough to the original ice cream truck favorites to satisfy. I was jazzed by the amount of chocolate crammed into a single treat and how well it kept up with the more plentiful vanilla ice cream it was wrapped around. A little more chocolate from the cookie bits in the ice cream made the party even more festive.

Oreo Mini Sandwiches are what you get if you crack open a regular Oreo cookie and replace the cream filling with a scoop of ice cream about five times thicker. The texture of the cookie is totally ice cream sandwich soft, but the size and embossing are identical to the cookies we know and love. They come in four three-packs per box, and it's pretty challenging not to eat all three in one sitting. It's fine if you do; that's considered a serving per the label information. But when you have eight other types of Oreo ice cream treats to sample, it's best to stick with just one — so I did, for a while. Then I went back for the rest. Oops.

I love the idea of being able to nibble on one or two instead of committing to a full-size Oreo ice cream sandwich. The fact that there are only three per packet allows sampling without inadvertently committing to too much snacking. And just seeing the familiar Oreo cookie look like a Double Stuf, but loaded with ice cream instead, is a giggle-inducing kick to the taste buds.

Mint and chocolate are a winning combination in every form, so naturally, it works well as an ice cream sandwich, including one from Oreo. There's a delicate exchange between the mint and the chocolate, which works better in this form than in the tub, thanks to generous portions of chocolate in the top and bottom crusts. Every bite allows the mint and chocolate to mingle, so you get something akin to the mint Oreo cookie but with a cool, frosty kick. It's an Oreo flavor inspired by cool summer treats like the ones you'd find on an ice cream truck, but it goes one better by ramping up every layer.

What elevates this cool customer into the top three is the combination of smooth minty goodness mashed between slabs of inimitable Oreo cookie enchantment. There's just the right amount of both in this size and structure to deliver a power play disguised as a frozen treat. The catch: You have to like mint in order to enjoy it. I do, but it's not to everyone's taste, which prevents it from reaching the top spot.

An Oreo Bar is never going to achieve the supreme quality of a Magnum bar, but why would you want something made by Oreo to be so hoity-toity that you couldn't share it with your kids? Instead, Oreo takes the Good Humor approach with a slab of ice cream with cookie bits in it, robed in crispy chocolate coating and impaled with a stick to keep your hands from getting dirty. The result is a nearly perfect ice cream treat that corrects some of the missteps of the usual chocolate-coated ice cream bar, an Oreo ice cream product amazing enough to excite fans — this fan, at least.

The chocolate coating appears to be made of crushed Oreos, leaving plenty of lumps and bumps of cookie embedded in the surface. It also makes the prospect of biting into the bar softer and more controlled, almost as if it's wrapped in an ice cream sandwich shell rather than traditional chocolate dipping. This is a genius move; it drives home the Oreo sandwich cookie concept from the first bite to the last. You won't accidentally peel off the hardened chocolate before eating the ice cream, as would happen on the usual dipped bar. Instead, you get the right amount of chocolate and cookies and cream every time, in the high-quality Oreo formula you know and love.

There's no rule that says an ice cream sandwich must be rectangular, which gives an Oreo ice cream sandwich plenty of leeway to enlarge its usual cookie composition and turn it into a heck of a frozen treat. Using the traditional Oreo cookie as the design inspiration for this sandwich may be obvious, but it's also brilliant. The visual impact of an oversized Oreo stuffed with ice cream instead of the typical creme filling is the kind of whimsy a fun ice cream goodie should deliver. And with the trademark embossed design on top and ridged edges rounding the circumference, this may be the most perfect form of Oreo ever created.

What does this sandwich get right? Literally everything. The cookie layers are soft like a traditional ice cream sandwich, but they have the unmistakable depth of real Oreo chocolate — and there's so much more surface area to enjoy. By the same token, the frozen dairy dessert in the center has sprinkles of cookie throughout the vibrant vanilla cream. All of it together eats like an Oreo lover's dream come true, crafted in the North Pole and frozen for a different kind of sweet sensation. I've never tried these before, but now they're at the top of my ice cream indulgence list.

With so many varieties of Oreo ice cream items, I was ready to launch a shopping adventure just to collect my sampling set. Fortunately, my local Kroger location carries a wide variety of Oreo ice cream products. They happened to be on special when I shopped, which meant great prices but low stock on a few of the picks. I gathered everything the store had but missed out on trying the brand's mini bars and cups.

To give each product its own separate opportunity on my taste buds, I spread out the sampling over a few days. This meant each item had a better chance of making its best impression without the flavors all merging into one big cookies-and-cream cluster. Because there was so much sugar involved, I limited myself to a few bites of each item; the ones that called me back for repeat sampling rose to the top of the list.